Blue Diamond's Remote
by Milo F. Waters
Summary: All is going well for the Crystal Gems when Steven suddenly begins falling ill. The rest of the gang goes to find a cure, but their search uncovers a Homeworld device meant to reverse unwanted alterations in Gem's personalities.
1. Chapter 1

It was another perfectly cloudy day as Steven Universe conducted his usual training routine at the Sky Arena. Connie had to study for a massive exam and had to miss the exercise, yet he still had the Crystal Gems for company. In fact, all of them had come to this particular session. Pearl was standing just a few feet to Steven's right, giving her usual unending stream of support and constructive criticism as Steven performed the various swordplay maneuvers against her specially programmed Holo-Pearl. "That's it Steven! Keep your stance firm! Watch out for her parry!"

The other gems were lounging on the arena's elongated benches. Garnet took the front row, silently looking on as her pride and joy demonstrated his improved shills with his mother's blade and shield. To her left sat Amethyst who was munching on a bag of chips and hollering her routine assortment of trash talk and compliments. "Come on, Steven! Show that holo-fool who's the BOSS!"

Towards the back of the ring sat Peridot and Lapis Lazuli who had warped in just for the occasion. Lapis remained perched with a placid smile on her face while Peridot was clearly ignoring the combat in favor of analyzing the arena for any inspiration for another of her "meep-morps." As the spark struck, she leaned into Lapis' right ear to begin whispering her plan as the training continued. "Psst! Lapis! I've got a great idea! We make a replica of the sword out of some old plow blades, get some pink paint and have them slice through bands of light reflected off some mirrors to signify the holographic target! Pretty brilliant, huh?"

"Peridot, do you mind? I've never seen Steven fight before and I'd like to watch. Besides, wouldn't hedge-clippers make a better blade?"

"Touché" muttered Peridot as she realized her idea was trumped, rolling her eyes in defeat. Oblivious to the chatter behind him, Steven was absorbed with the simulated battle as he countered and blocked all of the holographic attacker's blows. With his shield in one hand and his mother's prized blade in the other, Steven was finally building confidence in his abilities. After all the chaos the past few months had thrown at him from Bismuth, Jasper and an encounter with that hardhearted Ruby in space, he felt an insatiable drive to improve his skills so the next Gem he faced could be helped. He knew their faults were not his cause, but he could not help but notice a twinge of heartache every time he saw their faces within his mind. Although Garnet's meditations were a great comfort, he wished to never let the same fate befall the next Gem they faced. Instead she could be reformed, healed and befriended so that way they not only averted a crisis but also gained a new companion like Peridot or Lapis. As this contemplation stirred in the recesses of his mind, his honed instincts saw an opportunity to force Holo-Pearl to drop her sword. As she pushed in for a thrust, Steven thrusted his blade into the hilt of his opponent, then twisted to catch the blade under wrist where she had no choice but to drop her weapon. Click! The maneuver struck, the audience froze in amazement and the translucent swordswoman had no other option but to relinquish her cutlass. "Match set. Challenger wins. Level three complete." Steven's eyes widened with wonderment and the gems went ballistic with praise.

"Nicely done" said Garnet

"YEEEEAAHHH! STEVEEEEEN!" shouted Amethyst

"Wow! Way to go, Steven!" exclaimed Lapis

"May I implore you to pose for a meep-morp? Please?" asked Peridot

Steven could not help but blush from the boatloads of praise he was getting. As Pearl stepped in to congratulate Steven for finally progressing to the next level, the hologram faded and the excitable hybrid could only smile sheepishly as he caught his breath. "Alright everybody that ends today's training. I would like to thank you all for attending for moral support. Especially since this marks another breakthrough for his training. Steven, for your excellent technique today, you get TWO prizes from the Pearl Prize Pouch!"

As she went to collect the pouch, Pearl became confused as the receptacle was nowhere in sight. "That's odd. Steven, just relax and get rehydrated while I warp back to get your reward!"

Once Pearl beamed back to the temple, Steven took a seat on the lowest bench and began drinking from the juice box he brought. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he could not ignore the pride welling inside him. For weeks now, Steven had had his doubts about living in the shadow of his mother Rose Quartz and always questioning his own worth. Not today. All the apprehension that was welled up in him had evaporated. As the other Gems patted him on the back and rattled on about what an excellent combatant he was becoming, he could almost see his mother smiling on him his well. The gem in his navel seemed to be warming him… literally. Before long, his rose quartz become unbearably hot and sweat began streaming down his face even more profusely than during his training. His sword fell to the ground with a sharp clang and an awful groan spewed from his mouth as he collapsed on the ground. "Steven, are you alright?" inquired Peridot "Is it typical of humans to resume perspiration after strenuous physical activity?"

Taking a quick glance at Garnet and Amethyst's distraught expressions, her question was answered without a word. As his temperature rose, Pearl came back in with her pouch which she dropped immediately upon realizing the situation. The Gems clustered around him, fretting over his state until the perspiration faded as briskly as it came. In only seconds Steven was back on his feet, shooing off the overprotective onslaught. "Guys, I'm okay. Really! I probably just pushed myself too hard."

"Alright then" said Pearl who held a distinctly baffled tone in her typically eloquent voice "Steven, next time we'll make a note to work on pacing. For now, pick out your prizes and we'll all head back to the temple."

"Yay!" shouted Steven as he dashed over to the fallen pouch and retrieved a bright yellow harmonica and a Sailor Moon figurine. Whether his speed was the result of his burgeoning abilities or pure exaltation is any Gem's guess. While he admired his newest trinkets, his family made their way to the warp pad waiting for him to send them home. "Steven! Isn't the warp master going to take us all home?" asked Garnet

Bashful as he was from her comment, Steven sheathed his sword, collected his knickknacks and ran to the warp pad, looking forward to a relaxing day with his daily exercises complete. Once he had rejoined the collection of Gems he loved, he spread his hands apart causing a blue glow to wash over them as they were whisked back to the temple in seconds flat.


	2. Chapter 2

Finally home, the main Crystal Gems split up with Pearl heading to her room, Amethyst going to the kitchen for more munchies and Garnet silently walking off to who knows where as Peridot and Lapis stayed put as they would warp back to the barn once they said their final farewells until Steven's regular visit while the spirited adolescent trudged up the stairs to rest after his vigorous workout while watching his favorite show _Crying Breakfast Friends_. Given the cliffhanger from the episode he gave his reaction video on, he was restless to know the conclusion. After placing his tchotchkes on his nightstand and the sword on the foot of his bed, he turned on his television only to find the screen overwhelmed with static. "Uh guys, the TV's broken again."

The five gems soon gathered in front of the receptacle to notice the same static from the incident involving the now-demolished communication hub. "It can't be" said a mystified Pearl, "That hub's been in shambles for months now."

"Peridot, what did you hack into this time?" demanded Lapis.

"Nothing! I swear I haven't been back to that site since before I joined this rebellion. And besides, my ventures with your infuriating Earth technology are over! Completing that internet setup alone was a total nightmare! I still have these heinous bite marks on my…"

"Ah!" shouted Steven as the crippling heat overcame him once again, as if his gem was trying to broil his internal organs.

"Steven!" exclaimed the entire collection of Gems as they spaced out around his bed where Garnet soon placed him. Lapis unfurled her aquatic wings to provide Steven with some alleviation, but nothing seemed to faze his blistering fever. Sweat stains were already appearing all over his body and Amethyst could swear she smelled smoke emanating from his navel.

"This can't be a coincidence" said Garnet, "Steven's in critical pain and our signal is being hacked. This seems way too bizarre to be some random occurrence." Just as she finished her sentence, his pyrexia vanished as soon as it came and the television was suddenly fixed as well showing Steven's long-anticipated program. Ignoring the sobbing utensils and breakfast dishes, the others were both relieved and puzzled by his condition. "Now this really isn't a coincidence. Whatever is afflicting Steven is also interfering with the television signal" said Pearl "Steven, how do you feel now?"

"Better, but I can't get that image out of my head."

"Image? You saw something while you fell apart?"

"Yeah, it was like this giant gazebo. It was the size of the house, wrapped in chains on the side with a curtain in front and metal legs sticking out of the bottom."

"Well that's odd, maybe… Garnet are you alright?"

She was correct to ask. Garnet looked like she had the wind knocked out of her typically immovable frame. Her jaw was clinched, her hands were curled into fists as if she were about to summon her gauntlets and all she could utter was "It can't be" through her gritted teeth.

"Garnet, snap out of it! What's the matter?" Steven pleaded.  
Registering the misgiving in his voice, Garnet then steadied her hands and took off her visor to reveal her three eyes scarcely hiding her inner sense of disturbance caused by this vision. "I'm sorry, Steven. It's just that I know exactly what you're talking about and it's a terrible memory. But something tells me that that… thing is also the key to your ailment. Can you remember anything else? Where it was or anything else about it?"

"Um, all I saw was a grassy field. Oh, and it was blue. The whole thing was blue top to bottom."

"I figured as much. Gems, we have a mission on our hands."

"So, should we just stay here or head back to the barn?" asked Lapis who, solaced as she was for Steven's recovery, was chafing under these stressful conditions. While she was staring firmly at the floor and rubbing her shoulders, Peridot's eyes lit up at the thought of another mission. All she hoped for was another chance to demonstrate her awe-inspiring metal powers and that no huge boulders or marshmallows were involved. "I think we should come. As I've heard you earthlings say 'The more the merrier.' That is how the expression goes, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's how it goes Peri" Amethyst responded "If you wanna bring your nerd selves along, I don't see why not."

"Wow, a mission with all of the Gems! I should bring my ukulele!" said Steven

"Why, so we can sporadically burst into a song in a random fashion about being one large 'family' as you refer to your congregations here?" asked Peridot

"Of course!"

With his distinctive instrument seeing some action for the first time in months, the six Gems all huddled onto the warp pad with Garnet taking the lead. As they floated peacefully through the warp stream, Steven could only realize that not only was this the first mission with all five Crystal Gems but it was also their first objective such as this in months. For the longest time there always seemed to be some corrupted Gem monster to vanquish or a mystical novelty to retrieve. Back then he had to rely on the other Crystal Gems to assist and rescue him from certain danger be it lava pits, massive bird stomachs or falling rubble. Now he could handle a minor tussle, summon his shield at will and remain poised in some of the most hectic situations imaginable. Unfortunately, these memories also resurfaced the faces of those he failed to liberate, but when he glanced next to him to see Peridot and Lapis Lazuli standing by the others he felt a surge of pride. He had befriended them, turned them from enemies to allies and now here they all were. His family, the ones he cared for more than anything and he certainly knew the others were all amazed with his flowering skills and leadership. It was just as Garnet suggested - all he had to do was to take a moment to think of just flexibility, love and trust and the raging trepidation would fade from his conscience and would be replaced by his achievements and affection for others. The key was to focus on what he _had_ done, not what he hadn't done or couldn't do. With his mind at ease once more, the warp stream broke away to reveal their destination.


	3. Chapter 3

Once again on solid ground, the Crystal Gems scattered to get a glance of their new surroundings.

"I don't think we've ever been here before" said Pearl who could not be more correct. This field was somewhere none of the Gems had ever seen. It was some bizarre hybrid between a desert and a meadow with lush green grass and gentle-smelling white flowers sprouting above miles of pale yellow sand in all directions. Unlike the Kindergarten, this place seemed hardly touched by anything related to the Gems yet the warp pad proved otherwise and Garnet traced the source of Steven's predicament to this vicinity.

"Well, it shouldn't be too difficult to find something blue around here" Peridot chimed.

"What's wrong with the color blue?" asked Lapis with her arms crossed

"Yes, that's an excellent question Lapis," added Pearl with her eyebrow raised

If there was one weakness to Peridot's boastful demeanor and technological skills, it was that her confidence cracked easily under pressure. "Uhh well… I only meant… It's just that… Hey, Steven how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine! Thanks Peridot! Hey, Garnet why did you get so shaken up back at the house?"

"I'm very sorry you had to see that Steven. It's just that I have a hunch what we're looking for and it's not a pleasant thought."

With Steven relieved that Garnet would not sever, she could concentrate on leading this mission. "Alright Gems! This should be an easy task. Simply find this blue… object and investigate."

A slight wrinkle appeared on Steven's cheery brow. Garnet never showed hesitation or doubt. Why would she? She can literally scan the future for any headache and plan accordingly. Either she did not know what they were looking for… or she had an idea so horrible that it scared even her. Tempted to bust out his ukulele to soothe her jitters with a remedying refrain, Steven continued along with the Gem caravan as they trekked across the sandy plains. Lapis remained silent as she paced along with her bare feet possibly savoring the sand and grass between her toes. Pearl was also picking up on Garnet's unwillingness and her common eagerness was missing as well. Since even she had not been here before, her well of knowledge from the Gem War was completely useless which did not ease the rigid atmosphere. Amethyst gave up trying to goad one of the Gems into a race and occasionally glanced at the others, seeing if she could spot a glimmer of animation amongst her companions. Peridot, fed up with the silent melancholy, caught up to Steven on her slight gravity connectors so she could ask him for advice. "Steven what's going on with everybody? Are all your Crystal Gem missions like this?"

"Not really. Normally Amethyst is cracking jokes and shapeshifting, Pearl either squawking at her or teaching me some Gem history and Garnet is super-confident. I mean, it's still great that you and Lapis get to come. It's a shame that you caught us on a bad day."

"Should I try out one of those jokes I read in that book? Now that I researched what a 'cat' is, it really cracks me up!"

"Thanks Peridot but this will pass. No matter how crazy or dangerous this thing is, we always stick together and get through it."

With some more spring in her step, Peridot fell back to join Lapis. No doubt sharing that new joke of hers and somehow plotting to engage her in a debate over who is the best character on _Camp Pining Hearts_. While the ground remained that soothing mixture of alabaster granules padding the lush flora, the sky was that ideal shade of forget-me-not blue with just enough clouds to tickle the imagination for reshaping them into common objects. How could there be some Gem artifact that could make Steven unwell and Garnet shudder in such a tranquil field? For that matter, why was there a warp pad anywhere near here? There is no Gem machinery, no remnants of large-scale battles and even Pearl, their most seasoned veteran, had no memory of this location. Steven could only wonder as they calmly marched on, the colorless aura around them vanishing as he began strumming his ukulele, Amethyst began spin-dashing circles around Pearl to prompt her easily recognizable brand of scolding, Peridot and Lapis were in deep contemplation if their favorite show jumped the shark and Garnet exuded her everyday sense of stability and poise once again. Even as the hours passed and the sky turned from a soothing blue to an exhilarating orange, the mood remained as pastoral as the undisturbed ground beneath them. With night soon approaching, Pearl was getting anxious about Steven staying up past his bedtime, but that soon left her mind when Steven's fever flared up once more. As his face become drenched in sweat, his prized ukulele fell to the ground with an unharmonious thud that shook the group out of their lull. The Gems huddled around him as he stumbled onto the cool sand, the night breeze doing nothing to lower his temperature. Checking his forehead, Pearl became panicked at the sight of his breakdown "Oh no, not again! Garnet, we need to take Steven home. I'll carry him back to the warp pad and watch over him. The rest of you…"

"Pearl, we need to keep going. Steven will be fine in a few minutes" interrupted Garnet

"Uh, I'm no expert in diagnosing human ailments, but I believe his conditioning is worsening and agree with Pearl's suggestion to return him to a safer environment" Peridot interjected

"Yeah, he's really burning up. I can't focus on any mission if he's like this" added Lapis after grazing his blistering forehead

"Garnet, you can't seriously expect him to go on like this. This isn't like you at all!" said Amethyst

"For once, Amethyst is right" said Pearl ignoring Amethyst's incredulous expression "We should at least know what we're looking for instead of blindly wandering around. And with Steven incapacitated, it's unlikely we would get anything done. Why don't you all go forward while I take him back…"

As she reached down to lift Steven onto her shoulders, his sweat seemed to worsen and his entire body began spasming. His eyes clamped shut and he began screaming uncontrollably as if his entire being were on fire. His gem was now shining brighter than the rising moon, as if were trying to incinerate him from the inside out. Their eyes widened with shock and horror as the persistently positive Steven was struck down as if out of nowhere. The only one who showed no signs of sorrow was Garnet who had already seen the event pass. Seeing and knowing that Steven would be in such excruciating pain was eating her alive, but she knew that it would fade in a few moments and that what they were searching for, something that resurfaced horrible memories in her mind, was the key to this predicament. Still she could not stop the tears welling in her eyes, the same tears that appear whenever a grisly fate comes. From telling Steven about her future vision to fighting the horrific Malachite she knew that her ability could be a major asset or a liability. It was her responsibility as the _de facto_ leader to make the best decision and, insufferable as such moments can be, follow through. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she could not hear the rest of the Gems pleading to let them take Steven back or berating her for shutting off in the middle of a crisis. Just as she came back to her senses, the harsh glow faded and Steven seemed perfectly fine once more. The only lingering symptom of his illness was the shell-shocked look in his eyes. Normally so bright and full of optimism, they were both pried open to the widest angle yet blind to the mass of mollycoddling gems.

"Steven, how many touch stubs am I holding up?" said Peridot

"Three" he answered correctly

"Steven, do you want me to fly you home?" offered Lapis

"No thanks"

"Spit it out Steven! What's wrong with you?" asked Amethyst

"I… I don't know. I can't get those things out of my head."

It appears it wasn't just his body that was malfunctioning. As his eyes were clenched shut, he was overwrought with visions of the past. He saw beautiful fields ignite as swarms of Gems clashed holding weapons of all sizes, he saw himself standing over a colossal pink gem with his mother's sword in hand. He felt both a righteous fury and a great sadness through it all only these emotions, these daydreams were not his creation. It was almost as if he was living in the past. The past of his late mother. But how? If nothing else he now understood why Garnet was so shaken. Whatever they were searching for was the cause of this malady and he was determined to find it after some rest to allow his body to recuperate. For some reason he didn't comprehend, those phantasms scared him beyond belief and the last thing he wanted was for the gems, Pearl specifically, to fret over. With his eyes finally snapping back into attention, he noticed the gems all staring at him as Garnet finally chimed in "Steven, what do you need. Whatever it is, we'll all pitch in to help you."

"Thanks everybody. All I really need (yawn) is some sleep. I could really use my sleeping bag."

"I'll go get it!" said Lapis who already had her wings spread ready for takeoff.

"I'll join you" said Peridot being that she had actually been to Steven's house last week and thus knew where his items would actually be "It's in your… oblong meat bag, right?"

"That's right!" said Steven seconds before the unlikely duo soared into the sky with Peridot wrapping herself around Lapis' slim shoulders. Who would have ever thought they of all people would become such friends? With the night passing quickly, the remaining Crystal Gems began passing the time in their own way. Amethyst was shapeshifting into different animals, Pearl was practicing her ballet and Garnet was simply gazing at the stars, trying to count the galaxies she could identify from Earth. All the while Steven experimented with different melodies on his ukulele until Peridot and Lapis flew in with his hot dog duffel bag containing his sleeping bag and one of his stuffed animals. Under the halcyon canopy of silver stars and navy blue night, he fell asleep in seconds. By the time he awoke, the heavens were recolored cerulean with traces of purple from the fleeting sunset. With his hair curlier than usual and his stomach starting to hound him for breakfast (he knew he should have brought Lion with his snack stash tucked away in his mane), they resumed their trek for this cryptic relic. This time Garnet provided them with clear direction yet she still seemed to be in no hurry to reach it as if even she was still trying to push it out of her clairvoyant mind.


	4. Chapter 4

As the sand and grass crunched underneath their six sets of feet, Pearl finally saw the object they were looking for in the distance - the massive blue monolith Steven had described yesterday. "Garnet, that's our target, right?"

She didn't respond, but her unflinching pace and tightness in her palms were answer enough. In just a few minutes, their entire day of travel was finally coming to a close. Now only feet away from the immense pavilion, they all knew it was the exact object Steven had described - three stories tall, draped in velveteen curtains that belonged in an upscale mansion instead of a barren field, metallic shields all around the outside and matching legs sprouting from the bottom. The only sign of passing time was the petals and grains that littered the floor. "This is it. It looks like some huge chair" said Steven

Amethyst began poking around the structure, toying with the spindly legs underneath while the other four stood in various states of confusion and shock. Lapis simply gazed at the belvedere, although she could certainly agree the blue was overkill. Pearl has the vaguest idea she had seen this bower before while Peridot's jaw dropped at a grim realization. "Everyone, get away from it!" she shouted

"What's wrong, Peridot? Scared of spiders, now?" jested Amethyst.

"Very funny. This contraption is an older model of palanquins used to transport elite Gems. Although at this size and decoration, there's only one caste that it could…"

"It belonged to Blue Diamond" halted Garnet.

"Oh my stars, you're right!" said Pearl "This was the transport she used to escape when Rose Quartz and I went to the Sky Arena for a mission thousands of years ago. It was the day when we met Garnet…"

With no way to hide her feelings, Garnet explained her sudden reluctance to complete this mission "This was from when Ruby and Sapphire first met. When we first fused, she saw it as nothing but a violation. A _disturbance_ in their system. She wanted Ruby shattered. She almost…" Other than that, she could only recall that horrible voice ordering them to be split apart for allowing the rebels to escape and for their "disgraceful" act. To say these memories were bittersweet would be a gross understatement.

"Yeah. That's from the story you told me on my birthday" said Steven "But what the heck is it doing all the way out here?"

"Well, Blue Diamond did flee from the arena when Rose Quartz and I attacked. Perhaps it went off course or malfunctioned?" suggested Pearl

"Negative. From what I can see, there's no sign of technological failure. My conjecture would be that she came here on purpose" said Peridot who had mustered the courage to inspect the palanquin

"Okay then, so why would some super-important Diamond just take her freaky spider-carriage on a stroll to a random field?" asked Amethyst

"Judging from the proximity from the warp pad, this was a regular destination of hers. Perhaps she had some confidential meetings or…"

Before she could finish her theory, Steven began crawling up the gargantuan steps towards the center of the gig with the same lifeless gaze in his eyes from his last collapse. As the gentle wind seemed to grow icy within the mesh and drapes, he felt his gem grow distressfully clement in his navel. Drawn by some invisible influence, he lifted the immense cushion where the fearsome tyrant once rested. Underneath the pillow was a column only inches shorter than Steven. The metallic pedestal was colored black amidst the cobalt floor and as he stretched his hand towards the captivating cube, he began to register the sounds of the Gems scuffling outside. Of all things it was Garnet was trying to charge the palanquin, her gauntlets out with full intent to annihilate. Pearl was desperately standing in front of her shouting at her to cease.

"What's gotten into you? You're _never_ this openly destructive!"

Amethyst and Peridot were wrapped around her legs acting as impediments. Amethyst would have shapeshifted into the Purple Puma to further slow her down if she was not so terrified for the possibility of her best friend being in danger.

"Have you lost your mind?! Steven is in there!"

"It's impossible! With her fused size and strength, we're nothing more than, what are those tiny insects that march in lines… ants! That's it, we're nothing but ants to her!" barely responded Peridot

Meanwhile, Lapis was hovering above her attempting to dive bomb her. While direct physical attacks were not her forte, she could not fathom anyone harming Steven.

"You are SO lucky there isn't any water around here!" she threatened

Even still, Garnet was still inching forward in spite of four Gems hampering her progress. Only the thought of Steven being inside prevented from going ballistic and obliterating the structure in seconds. She knew what lay inside the box and how catastrophic it will be if he comes near it. Unperturbed by the civil war outside, Steven's hand grazed the top of the podium. The upper face retracted in a perfect diamond pattern where the virus behind his cancer was finally exposed; a three-inch tall pyramid-shaped tchotchke dyed a fierce shade of indigo with a transparent capstone. Granules of white sand speckled the perimeter of the device, as if even the slightest particle of foreign matter would not be accepted by this alien apparatus. Only as his hand lay millimeters from the zenith of the device, he heard Garnet shout "Steven, get away from that…" before his fingers frisked the top. The meridian suddenly turned a violent shade of pink and a screeching hum shattered the Crystal Gems' quarreling before they all fell unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

During his minutes without consciousness, Steven's mind was once again flooded with glimpses of his mother's life. He saw her fleeing Homeworld with only a desperate hope to save Earth and limited resources then flashed forward to her constructing the temple near a secluded coast that would eventually become his home of Beach City. He saw ranks of her followers, throngs of Gems who sought freedom dwindle as battle after costly battle progressed until only three familiar faces remained. Through her eyes Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl looked on with the utmost devotion and confidence that their infallible leader would always remain, she would stay their protector and inspiration for all time until he began seeing flashes of his father, younger and fuller than he could have conceivably seen firsthand. As his head was reliving Rose's final struggle, his eyes finally began to open. He groaned as his ears rang yet the field remained eerily unchanged. His clothes and even his ukulele had stayed in immaculate condition aside from some green stains. Beside him was Pearl, her ashen face now slightly kissed by sand and uprooted grass. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lapis and Amethyst in a heated debate but the tinnitus forbade him from registering what they were saying over another body. The palanquin was now several hundred feet away, now resembling a pleasant abode in a faraway field rather than a remnant of ruthless imperialists working to conquer the planet. After what felt like an eternity, Steven finally stood on his feet as Amethyst and Lapis stepped towards him with an unconscious Peridot in Lapis' arms and two objects slung over Amethyst's shoulders. Probably more souvenirs for her collection. As the two spotted him upright, they bolted over to him with their eyes aglow.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" said Lapis

"Man, you're up after that? Dude, you are a beast!" said Amethyst

"What happened to the others?" Steven said, realizing that they were the only three not trying to fuse with the flora.

Lapis responded, looking down at her best friend still knocked out, the enigmatic pyramid now in her lifeless hands after she had retrieved it so at least their mission was not in vain. "We have no idea. An awful noise came from that… thing you touched and everyone just fell apart. The two of us woke up at the same time and we weren't sure what to do."

"Garnet was going nuts trying to get you out of there. Maybe because… well…" said Amethyst

Before she could finish, Steven just now grasped that Garnet was nowhere to be found. Those were no souvenirs on Amethyst's shoulders. On her left was Ruby, her face completely still which was rare for the petite firebrand. To her right was Sapphire and although her serene state was commonplace for her, she seemed just as lifeless as her partner. Somehow that machine had not only sent every gem into a coma, but it also split apart Garnet! Even with an agonizing headache, Steven could feel a wave of guilt come over him. "I'm so sorry guys. None of this would have happened if I didn't touch that… thing."

"There's no way you could have known, Steven. We don't blame you at all" said Lapis

"Yeah. I would have done the same thing" reassured Amethyst "Now let's get these guys back to the temple so we can fix all of this."

Consoled for the moment, Steven lifted the still blacked out Pearl and the now halfhearted cavalcade of Gems marched for hours until the warp pad was beneath them. After so many paces in silence with nothing but the sand calmly drifting in the current and flowers that none of them stopped to sniff, the few seconds to return to the temple seemed to pass by in a microsecond. Whether or not this was fact, all three of them went to work resting their fallen comrades with Peridot being placed on the kitchen counter with a pillow placed under her neck by Lapis who then removed the device from her hands, treating the edifice as if it could detonate at any moment, Amethyst laid the components of Garnet on the couch with hands only millimeters apart and Steven carried Pearl to his bed. He could only note how ironic it was that now he was the one watching her sleep before a third outbreak of alien flashbacks engulfed his mind. Hundreds of years in the past, Rose Quartz conducted the Crystal Gems as an organized militia, laying out strategies with her renegade Pearl by her side at all times, the losses piled up as Gems were either shattered before her eyes or reclaimed by the brutish Homeworld Gems to be "restored to their proper function" as if they were soulless machines. Some existence to be glued into an immovable pyramid constructed solely to support a quartet of absolute rulers who would dispose of any "defective" gem who did not belong in their "perfect" society. After beholding a world of literally infinite possibilities for its billions of organisms, Rose could not imagine living any other way.

"STEVEN!"

His field of vision was once again in his control and it was consumed by Amethyst shaking him awake. Once the glaze was out of his eyes, he observed that still only half the Gems were cognizant before he heard the sound of Pearl rising from his bed. He and Amethyst dashed up the stairs to check on her while Lapis shuffled towards Peridot, still shaken by the entire situation and the sight of the pyramid. Now at her bedside, the rambunctious doublet of Gems were thrilled to see Pearl's eyes slowly open, yet once they were fully agape her look was only of confusion. "What am I doing inside some human dwelling?" she asked

"Pearl, are you okay?" asked Steven

"AAAGGHHH!" she screamed as she leaped above his mattress and just grazed the ceiling as she descended on top of his television. Only when she saw Amethyst did her expression change. The sudden dismay was instantly replaced with exacting scorn "Amethyst, what have done this time? Is this some elaborate prank?" she said as she continued to scan the perimeter

While Ruby and Sapphire sleep under her radar, she was baffled when she spotted the warp pad at the farthest corner. She then leaped off the platform and began inspecting the ground, scanning for any comforting sign that this was one of Amethyst's hoaxes. To her utter disbelief, it was the genuine article. "Since when did we build a human residence on top of the temple?" she asked

"Pearl, you're joking right?" asked Steven

"I am terribly sorry but do I know you?" she responded

As the reality of how calamitous this situation was became apparent, Steven and Amethyst both gained the same distraught expression. Trying to lessen the blow, Amethyst began laughing. "Hahaha. Very funny, Pearl. Trying to get back at me for all my messing around."

"I'm not joking, Amethyst. Who is this young human?"

"Pearl, it's me. Steven! Steven Universe…"

For a split second, there was a hint of joy as she began rubbing her chin as she seemed to recognize the name. Much to the pair's growing unease, her face shifted to one of slight disgust. "Oh. Are you a friend of Greg's?"

"He's my dad! Come on Pearl you know all of this!" said Steven who was now aching with dread at the most likely explanation. In desperation, he lifted his trademark salmon shirt to reveal the pink rose quartz in his navel which had thankfully ceased its efforts to charbroil his internal organs. Gazing at the gemstone she knew all too well, Pearl's brain finally began to connect the dots and soon her gracious smile reappeared on her face and soon gave way to bouts of laughter. The other two soon caught this contagious reaction and the three were soon flat on the floor laughing their hearts out until Pearl finally regained her breath, stood herself up and tried to contain herself. "Rose, you really had me going there."

Hearing this, Steven and Amethyst ceased laughing in a fraction of a second. From the look in her eyes, they knew she was not playing into some recurring joke. She earnestly believed the young boy in front of her was Rose Quartz. "I mean you genuinely had me convinced that this was some random human dwelling. Ah, you always manage to surprise me especially with that form of yours complete with a false name! I suppose it fits seeing as you are the one with the most experience interacting between humans, but my, my you had me bamboozled!"

As Pearl wrestled with her guffawing, the dyad of remaining Gems exchanged nervous glances which finally allowed Pearl to stifle her merriment as she grew concerned by the unease emanating from the two. "Pearl, are you feeling alright?" asked Amethyst

"Well, aside from wondering how you managed to construct this abode during the time it took me to recover from my brief coma, I'm just fine. My concern is what has you two on edge."

"What's the last thing you remember?" inquired Steven

"Well, we were taking a stroll through some grassy field when we came across a large structure belonging to the Diamonds. You ventured in to retrieve some artifact, there was a horrible screeching noise and then nothing."

"Uh, you do remember us though, right?" he asked

"Hahaha! Don't be ridiculous. Even with that new form, I can still recognize you, Rose."


	6. Chapter 6

Having beheld Pearl's partial breakdown upon waking in an unfamiliar location, Lapis Lazuli had flown off with Peridot to return her to the barn where she could recover in a more familiar environment. She also took possession of the cryptic device that had caused this affliction believing that Peridot's technological savvy could answer some questions seeing as Pearl was not in her right state of mind. As the quaint sights of Beach City gave way to the forests and pastures of the countryside, she could feel some of the anxiety disperse as her aqueous wings flapped and the gentle breeze whistled through her hair and tickled her bare feet. With Steven preoccupied with his own dilemma and Peridot out for the count, she had to swallow her hesitation and take charge of assisting her friend. _I have survived worse than this. Centuries trapped in a mirror, flying through the cosmos, a crashing spaceship, and months under the sea in an unstable fusion. How could this be any worse than what I've already witnessed?_

Just before she could ponder this hang-up, her destination came into view as she slowly descended so as to not disturb Peridot or the pyramid still caressed in her arms. Once firmly panted on terra firma, she sheathed her watery airfoils and began to hike back to the barn on foot with an unconscious Gem and miniature oracle in hand. It was hard to believe this old structure once crammed with bizarre apparatuses for human engineering had been converted into their home complete with a balcony made from an old flatbed, a tent where they could reenact scenes from their favorite teen drama and a lopsided silo that both contained their personal aquarium and covered the gigantic hole that, according to Steven, her tenacious cohort made with a massive robot. At last she laid Peridot inside the tent outside and was even tempted to put on her favorite bow tie, but decided against it and settled for wiping the grime from her face with a spare handkerchief. She then placed the model pyramid next to her so she could eye them both while she sat down to get some rest after days of raucous and upset. For what seemed to be hours she sat vigil over Peridot, hoping that she would gain consciousness and form some explanation for the chaos that was now unfolding at the temple. Only as the sun began to approach high noon did she finally wake, her eyes slowly cracking in a daze. "Thank goodness you're alright" she said without any hesitation as her compadre began to observe her surroundings, carefully lifting her hands before they snapped open in panic as she noticed her bare appendages. Peridot then began violently shrieking in panic "Where are my limb enhancers?! Where am I?!" until Lapis grabbed her by the arms and forced her to meet her concerned gaze. Once eye contact was made, Peridot seemed to unwind meaning she most likely recognize her. "Lapis Lazuli… is that you?"

"Yes! Yes, it's me Peridot!" she exclaimed before giving her a joyous hug only to be met with her struggling against her embrace.

"What's going on here? What happened to my limb enhancers and where exactly are we?"

Lapis could barely comprehend her rapid-fire questions although the image of Peridot's artificial arms and legs did ring a few bells. "Those were thrown into the ocean by Amethyst, remember? It happened after you kidnapped Steven" she said hoping she was keeping all the stories Steven had told her straight

"Steven… I recognize that name…" Peridot muttered as she lit a spark in Lapis with her apparent recall before she gasped "Isn't he one of those Crystal Clods?" with utter disdain in her voice

"Peridot, are you feeling alright?"

"Just disgusted at the thought of those traitorous clods stealing all my enhancers and my log! Wait… are we on Earth?"

"Yeah…"

"What log date is it? Has there been any tremors in the ground? Who's been checking on the Cluster?" she demanded as her eyes bolted open to their widest

"The Cluster? What are you talking about?" By this point, she felt that she had a better chance of reasoning with Jasper

"The massive geo-weapon that lies dormant under this planet's crust that could reduce it, and us, to ruin!"

Before she could detonate into an explosion of hysteria, she caught sight of the pyramid and began ogling it with great interest giving Lapis the time to ruminate. The more she heard, the more memories from Steven's stories came into her mind. He once said that he had to drill into the Earth to stop an enormous fusion from ripping the planet apart… and he did it with Peridot. Long after she had lost her false limbs and joined the "Crystal Clods." Beginning to fear the worst and recognizing the signs of amnesia which she had seen multiple times in _Camp Pining Hearts_ , she could only conceive one question to ask her.

"Peridot, what is the last thing you remember?"

After ungluing her eyes from the pyramid she was attempting to dissect with her touch stubs, she responded "Well, those cursed rebels invaded our ship and that large one fought Jasper while the others tied me up and commandeered the ship. It then began a collision course towards Earth and I abandoned ship in an escape pod. After that, I landed in a wide open field, heard this horrendous screeching sound and then I was rendered unconscious. And apparently, those ruddy-muddy clods mugged me and… wait, what happened to you?"

"Uhh… that's not important." The last thing she needed to mention was the Malachite debacle or how their commander Jasper was now captured and corrupted or how one of those "traitors" had explained all of this to her over web chat. It would just send her into another tizzy. At least she seemed to remember her, but the last few months seemed to be missing. "The important thing is you remember who _I_ am, right?"

"Don't be preposterous. You're my informant on a now-failed mission to inspect a most likely malfunctioned geo-weapon now would you mind holding off your interrogations?"

With that said, Peridot simply returned to analyzing the device which was fortunate for Lapis. Now she could slip away into the barn where she can cry without adding more confusion to her amnesiac friend's once again heartless, technological world where there was no room for anything besides statistics and serving her Diamond.


	7. Chapter 7

Back at the temple, the situation was still dismal as Pearl for the most part seemed content with "Rose's" new form yet her apprehension was still clear after being given a rushed, hastily cobbled explanation. After hours of dodging her questions, the unlikely duo of Steven and Amethyst could finally begin to formulate a plan to restore Pearl's memory. Perhaps Rose's old healing fountain could work? Maybe there was some Gem artifact they could locate for reversing memory loss? This was at the forefront of their thoughts until they spotted Ruby and Sapphire still knocked out on the couch which had completely slipped their minds with the ensuing calamity. Pearl's gaze soon followed and, much to Steven's relief, her doting was now directed at the sleeping couple with the most pressing matter being why Garnet was split up. "Rose, what happened to them? They seem unhurt but why are they unfused and… senseless?"

As Steven had to grasp that his educating her in slumber was nonexistent for the moment, the attention gracefully shifted as Ruby's eyes opened. She yawned and stretched her arms as if she had taken a pleasant nap but the peace of mind deteriorated when she noticed her being divided and her partner still asleep to her right. "What happened? Is she okay?" she asked, pleading for an answer from someone around her. If nothing else, she seemed to remember everyone around her.

After many unbearable seconds, Steven dared to give a response "We were going on a mission and you kind of… fell apart."

Before she could part her hair to observe her singular eye, Sapphire raised her hand and blocked her. She made it clear that she was awake, much to the relief of Ruby and the surrounding onlookers. "How did we get back to the house?" she asked expecting Ruby to immediately fill her in and refuse as soon as possible. Instead, Ruby's hand unlocked from hers and began staring through her as if she were seeing a phantom. "I'm sorry, but are you talking to me?" she asked

Sapphire gave a soft, reassuring smile, seeing through her clever ruse "Very funny, Ruby. You shouldn't try to scare anyone like that, now why don't we…" until she saw the confusion in her partner's gaze.

She had almost never seen her so uncertain of anything involving her since the day they first met 5,750 years ago. Or that something was amiss with herself. Rather than glancing the future for the nearest moment that would answer this evident issue, her ability to skim the passage of fate for events yet to come had vanished. Seeing how distraught the usually unflappable Gem was, Pearl stepped in "Sapphire, is everything okay?"

"No? Yes? I…. I… I don't know what's going to happen."

"What do you mean? You ALWAYS know what's going to happen. You've even given me future vision three times before!" said Steven

"Only three? Wow, you are dedicated to this new 'Steven' personality, aren't you Rose?" said Pearl

As she tugs at the strap of her white tank top out of awkwardness, Amethyst jumps in "Yeah… Sapphire, what are you saying?"

Now completely frazzled, she grabbed the straps of Amethyst's top and pulls her into point-blank range, her one eye nearly bulging out of its socket "I CAN'T SEE!"

Just as she was going to fly off the handle in front of everyone, Ruby suddenly placed her arms around her shoulders "Sapphire?! What's going on? Are you okay? And why are we separated? Was it something I said…" firing off every possible source of her misery that her sporadic mind could come up with.

While the other gems were pacified seeing her warm embrace return, Sapphire gave the most unlikely response "Do I know you from somewhere?"

With this one comment along with her fragile nature, Ruby started to spiral out of control "Sapphire, don't be ridiculous. It's me, Ruby. We've been together for, oh, just the past few millennia…"

As humorous as she was making it to be, the consternation in her eyes was obvious and seeing the disturbed expressions on Steven, Amethyst and Pearl, she was forced to take drastic action: hoisting Sapphire into her arms and running out the door as quickly as her stout legs could carry her. The other Gems soon gave until Amethyst spotted a small, blue speck in the sky soaring towards them - Lapis Lazuli. When Pearl caught sight of her, she became baffled at the presence of a Gem she did not know.

"Rose, who and/or what is THAT?" she asked still pointing at the incoming recluse.

"It's Lapis. Lapis Lazuli? You really don't remember her either?" said Steven who was becoming more balked by the second

"I think I would remember a Gem with… are those wings made out of water?" she stated incredulously

Trying to avoid a for once confrontation, Amethyst followed Ruby's hasty brand of logic and resorted to remove Pearl by the situation "That isn't important. We'll deal with her while you go chase down Ruby and Sapphire!" before chucking her as far as she could manage.

Somehow she understood the order and, not wanting to enter a scuffle in front of who she still believed was her leader, Pearl could only shout a response of "Alright!" as she sailed through the clouds that were now changing colors with the setting sun from a placid white to a vibrant orange and yellow over the undisturbed ocean just outside the temple. Having witnessed the carnage unfold from above, Lapis landed on the sand and wasted no time in delivering the information she extracted from the freshly callous Peridot. "Guys, I think I know what's gotten into everyone."

"Well spit it out before Pearl comes back who, by the way, is convinced that Steven in still Rose and she'll be carrying Garnet's pieces who are having weird memory… flubs" said Amethyst

"Wait, they're all having memory problems, too?"

"Does that mean something's wrong with Peridot?" asked Steven

"Yes. She… She doesn't remember the past few months and thinks we're stranded on Earth after our ship crashed. And she's convinced that you're all her enemies."

"WHAT?! All that singing, all that bonding, all the tunneling into the Earth to stop a humungous Gem monster. Wasted!" said Steven who was struggling to hide his mushrooming anxiety from causing a breakdown on top of his pounding headache

"But I did learn from her what's causing all of this. She's spent the past few hours studying that pyramid we found in case it's a communication device so she could… contact Homeworld."

"Great, that's just what we need. More chaos" remarked Amethyst

"Thankfully, that's not the case. She couldn't figure out what it was since she had never seen a design like it but by analyzing the components she learned its purpose: it was a sort of remote control designed to erase any flaws in a Gem and essentially reset them to the day they first emerged."

"So it was made to, reprogram Gems' minds?" inquired Steven

"Exactly. It was essentially made by Blue Diamond herself as a secret weapon headed against the rebellion that would activate if Rose Quartz were to come within a certain area but it wasn't finished by the time the rebellion claimed victory and was simply discarded as a failure."

"And how did you get all of that nerd-babble out of Peridot?" said Amethyst

"The same way I memorized all of her shipping diagrams: lots of repetition and guesswork" replied Lapis

With her explanation finished, she bid the two farewell as her presence here would upset the other amnesiac Gems and decided to fly back and possibly see if Peridot had come around yet. Amethyst was unsure about what to do until she saw Steven sitting on the steps who was aiming to ease his migraine and stop the tears welling in his eyes simultaneously. Knowing the being a hindrance all too well, she plodded next to him and tackled the delicate art of motivation "Steven, are you alright?"

"No. It's not alright. This whole fiasco was my fault. If I hadn't touched that stupid pyramid, we wouldn't have half the Gems going crazy."

"Hey, don't forget who is the Gem that was literally made defective? I know the feeling that no matter what you do, how much you try, you'll never be up to someone else's standards. But you showed me that's not the case Steven. And I think you can do the same for them."

"How?! Pearl thinks I'm Mom, Peridot thinks we're all traitors and Ruby and Sapphire are an inch away from a panic attack! No amount of singing, spit or pep talks is going to heal this."

As Amethyst was starting to get beat down by the facts before her, a new mystery was in put in front of her "So, why aren't we going crazy? We were all there when that… remote went berserk and we remember everything."

"Maybe… it's because there's nothing to reprogram. You were never on Homeworld and Lapis spent so long in that mirror that she could have forgotten what she was supposed to be?"

"Yeah. That makes sense. But what's been going on with you and all your fainting spells?"

"I guess it's because the remote recognized this," he said as he lifted his shirt to show the Gem that was once his mother's "And maybe because I'm only half-Gem it doesn't fully work on me."

"It's the same reason why those Gem energy cells couldn't hold you. But that doesn't explain the fainting."

"I've been getting these weird visions and I think their all clips from my Mom's life like her memories are inside me."

"Well, you haven't had one in a while…" she spouted at the worst possible moment as the gem within Steven began shining once again and his eyes clamped shut and the flashbacks set in once again. Feeling just as helpless as she did staring down Jasper in the Beta Kindergarten, Amethyst looked towards the setting sun hoping that this would pass by nightfall and even wishing Pearl were here to give her a helping hand or at least a scolding.


	8. Chapter 8

Miles away from Steven's mental collapse that was occurring at the temple, Ruby continued to jog across the rolling hills and meadows that surrounded Beach City until either her legs or her mind gave out and hopefully could avoid having Pearl chase after them although after her landing in someone's chimney, odds are that she would return to the temple to freshen up and unleash her irritation on Amethyst rather than pursue them especially since none of them were at their prime. At the front of her mind, however, was a fear that she had never felt before. The fear that for once Sapphire was not there and she may be truly alone for the first time in aeons. It took her every ounce of her being to ignore the pleas that were spouting from Sapphire's mouth as without any trace of Garnet in her mind, over five thousand years were erased as she continued to plead "Where is my Diamond? Where am I? Where are we going?" Fearing that her mind could turn to jelly at any moment and give her Sapphire the same feeling of hysteria, she trudged on with her eyes forward and a destination in mind. With the hills giving way to mountains in the distance, Ruby's mind began to change as her mental images of Sapphire began to fade but her legs did not miss a step as the cave they once shared thousands of years ago was only yards away and Sapphire's endless string of queries silenced as she gazed up at her brave soldier carrying her to sanctuary once again. With the moon now climbing above the horizon, Ruby finally came to a stop inside the small cavern; the same cavern the two resided in over 5,000 years ago when they first fled from Blue Diamond after they formed Garnet. How it had avoided erosion or some other geological change was the least of their concerns as Sapphire's mind was crisp while Ruby drifted off into amnesia once again. With no ability to know when her loved one would come around or if she would be in the right state of mind when it happened, Sapphire could only cherish the memories she had for the moment. That glorious moment when Garnet was first fused, the day they met Rose Quartz and joined the rebellion and even their recent escapades with the other Crystal Gems and Steven in particular. While she felt a twinge of guilt for abandoning him and the others in their time of need, she was still more concerned with their fate for the moment. For once in her life, she had no idea what could or would occur and no Gem to fall back on causing a tear to accumulate in her eye and drip down her face past her wall of hair catching the attention of Ruby. "Hey, um, are you okay?" she asked nervously

"You recognize me?" she replied incredulously

"Yeah, you're that elite Gem I was sent to protect but I… can't remember exactly how we ended up here."

"Of course" she responded despondently, refraining her inner misery from manifesting in her cryokinesis running rampant. The only thing she could figure that could make this situation worse was if Ruby grew any form of animosity towards her and her suddenly freezing them both in a cave may raise some tension between them. Unknown to her, Ruby's memory were wandering in as hers were disappearing. The cause behind this bizarre cerebral teeter-totter was the inability for the remote to compensate for fusions and so each of their minds were affected in equal measure - when one mind was lost, the other would have perfect clarity and it was impossible to form Garnet since the two are in constant disharmony. Seeing her beloved so lost in what should be a nostalgic location, Ruby tried to contain her dolor and irritation but her pyrokinesis knew no such restraint and the ground beneath her began to smoke. Shocked at her own lack of restraint, she began desperately trying to extinguish the flames but each attempt resulted in the heat emanating from her skin to grow more fevered and just when she was appreciating Sapphire's stupor, she heard a sound she had grown to adore over their years together: Sapphire's laughter that brought back a flood of memories from every time she heard that wonderful tone and she was not the only one. Suddenly the amnesiac Sapphire recalled slivers of eons past, the centuries they had spent together resurfaced in her cognizance. "Why do I get the inclination that this isn't the first time that's happened to you?" she asked playfully as the balance between their minds was thrown out of whack by this sudden burst of emotion. As Ruby tried to respond, her memory banks were being dumped thanks to the remote's damaging as the balance shifted, all she could muster was "Yeah, and it also happened with… with…" with her brow creasing to summon the name she just had on the tip of her tongue.

"Do you mean Steven?" Sapphire guessed

"Yeah! I accidentally steamed him at that motel pool!" she answered back with her usual energetic vigor

"The motel? What motel?" she requested as the eons slipped out of her dainty fingers

"The one we went to after that awful fight with um…"

"Pearl? Yes, after that whole Sardonyx calamity. What a mess that was."

"Heh. Yeah, I got pretty steamed after that and you calmed me down" she said as the equilibrium was finally begin to return between them. "And don't get us started about the Sugilite fiasco!"

"Hahaha. You had to bring that up? I still can't understand what got into the three of us."

"Some things just don't work well together, I guess" Ruby commented when they both had a realization: their true selves were coming back but how? Wanting to keep their brains on track, Sapphire tried to drum up more memories but the reservoir seemed to run dry and, much to her dismay, she was now losing custody of her past without any ability to scan the future. Noticing the cold crashing down on her, Ruby dared to close the few feet separating them and put her left hand into Sapphire's right. With their gems touching and the fire dimming behind them, she asked the only question her impetuous mind to conjure "How are you feeling?"

"Scared. Confused. Wondering where my Diamond is."

"Why did we ever serve the Diamonds anyway?"

"They don't exactly make is an option. But why do you bring this up?"

"Because I know how to throw away everything the Diamonds have told you. How to be you own Gem, find your own destiny and make yourself into something original."

"How can I be original? There are dozens of identical Gems spread out all over the galaxy."

"Really? There are _thousands_ of me out there yet I still feel original."

"How?"

"Do you trust me?"

Much to Ruby's horror, her echo took an agonizing number of seconds to come. Before she could literally burst into flames, Sapphire finally spoke "Yes."

" _I_ am the answer" was all she said before risking the ultimate gamble: a kiss. She closed the few remaining inches closed and their lips touched. Sapphire was so stunned, she couldn't believe what her eye was showing her until it was interrupted by a bout of dizziness forcing her to lie down out of Ruby's tender reach. Afraid she had actually melted her mind, Ruby dropped to her knees and took Sapphire's right hand in her own until she awoke. "Ruby?" she mumbled

"Yes? What is it?"

"I need you to step outside" she said plainly.

The kiss failed. For once, their affection could not overcome adversity. Completely crushed, Ruby decided it would not be best to argue or show her degeneration into depression and stepped outside the cave. Above her, the sky was now a superabundance of stars with Homeworld's galaxy somewhere above her, taunting her as the remote's effect seemed to eradicate her partner's soul. Out of her sight, the tears began to run even barely noticing the two shooting stars streaking above her in perfect unison. Before her knees could give out and a scream could erupt from her mouth, she heard Sapphire ask "Did you see those shooting stars, Ruby?"

"Yeah. So what?" was the only retort she could manage.

"I saw them as well."

"Huh?" Ruby had a right to be befuddled since Sapphire was inside the cavern during the few seconds the comets soared overhead. Before she could create a response, Sapphire met her outside and repeated herself "Ruby, I saw them" only now with a huge grin on her face and wiping away the wet streams along her cheeks with her hand now brimming with warmth despite her icy abilities. Soon she could not refrain herself and droplets began pouring out of her single eye as Ruby put the pieces together and was overcome with euphoria which peaked once Sapphire thrusted herself onto her, arms clenched around her and shaking with exaltation. In only seconds they were both bawling with joy. Ruby just barely succeeded in lifting Sapphire into the air, twirling her until their bodies reverted into light and subsequently Garnet was allowed to return. At long last she was back, all three eyes gushing out of pure gaiety. For one moment nothing could faze her. The entire planet could be vaporized then and there yet she would not have noticed as she fell on her back, staring with delight at the two gems embedded in her palms and the glorious downpour of times past running through her head alongside the passage of fate which she could glance at a moment's notice anew. After what felt like hours of magnificent bliss, Garnet's serious demeanor returned when she observed a markedly startling outcome involving Steven. With a goal in mind and love repaired, she summoned her visor and began bounding back to Beach City to witness the events that would unfold soon.


	9. Chapter 9

The night was still young as Lapis Lazuli flew with all her might to return home. Seeing that carnage at the temple, especially with Garnet completely splitting up, she hoped that that remote's effects were not permanent. Maybe the calamity was already solved and Peridot would be her usual compulsive self by the time she came back, dreaming up another scene to emulate or drafting conspiracy theories on one of those corkboards they found some time ago. Even with the trees being reduced to an expansive black mass under the dim moonlight, she had no trouble finding her way and began her decline once the domicile came into her line of sight. Landing without a sound, Lapis began treading towards the barn so as to not potentially put Peridot on the offensive. She was nowhere to be seen outside and had avoided tampering with any of their belongings and upon crossing the threshold spotted her exactly where she left her a few hours ago - squatting in the dead center of the main floor with the infernal pyramid in front her only now with tools scattered around, some of them bent or outright mutilated due to her forced inexperience. Although she had not touched the soldering guns or staple guns, much to Lapis' relief, many of their scissors and hammers were now lying in shambles and her fingers were not cooperating. Several minutes passed until Peridot finally threw down the remote in exasperation, which gave her the first thing to smile at all day, and faced her. Not being versed in starting conversations, Lapis simply gave a sheepish wave and asked "So, how's it going?"

"If you must know, it's been 'going' horribly! I thought I could use some of these primitive tools to potentially reverse engineer this contraption into some form of communicator based on its apparent ability to project frequencies but since I cannot refer to my databases for advice and the archaic devices on this rock, it is has been absolutely useless!" she huffed at light speed with enough ferocity to splinter the floor beneath them. Peridot, resigned from her mission, stormed outside for some air leaving Lapis alone with the various sculptures her comrade could not remember constructing and the remote still laying on the floor. With nothing else to occupy her, she decided to actually observe the device and could not resist its beauty. Such a sleek design and a commanding color! Had it not reduced nearly everyone she cared about into shambling wrecks of their true selves, she would not mind adding it to her collection of tchotchkes or using it as a component in another of her meep-morps. Before she could truly debate the issue, Peridot ridiculed her from the doorway in a tone that impeccably matched the Gem she hated when they first met.

"Ha! You think you can turn that outdated scrap into something functional! Good luck!"

"I know that. I was just looking at it. It may not do much, but at least it's pretty?"

"Pretty? What difference does it make if it's 'pretty?' It serves no function and therefore it's worthless" she replied with no hesitation in her voice, arms crossed and somehow looking down on her despite being half her height as if she were an infant.

"It still looks nice and sometimes that's all something is meant to do."

"Ugh, this backwards planet has been rubbing off on you. This device is as inoperative as most of the contraptions in this dwelling. Are all residences here this outlandish?"

"Not from what I've seen. So… you really don't recognize anything in here?"

"Why would I waste my time on so many fruitless projects? Just because this world may not be at immediate risk of annihilation does not mean I have to resort to filling my life with empty distractions."

"These pieces are not fruitless! They all have a purpose just like any machine!"

"Oh, really?" she said while walking past her towards a table containing one her own earliest works: a damaged tape recorder with a blue bow attached, screen cracked and the actual tape damaged beyond repair. "And just what does this fragmented mess do that is so fruitful?"

Finally sick and tired of this arrogant midget, Lapis finally snapped "You're joking, right? You don't remember this? That's the tape recorder that YOU used during your time on Earth to record your thoughts while you worked with the 'traitors' to _stop_ the Cluster from emerging!"

"What are you babbling about? Why would I do such a counterproductive and foolhardy mission that goes against my orders?"

"Because you defected! At one point you actually did get a Diamond communicator from the old base on that moon!" she screamed with her finger gesturing straight towards the satellite that was still rising towards the zenith. "You contacted Yellow Diamond and you defied a direct order from her, called her a clod TO HER FACE and then joined the Crystal Gems! And what does this fragmented mess do? It serves as a reminder of that journey, the months you spent discovering yourself on Earth, your new home and growing to love your new life. That's what this thing does!"

For the first time since regaining consciousness, Peridot was absolutely mute. Her face was one of complete horror and confusion that soon gave way to howling laughter that forced the diminutive genius to lying on back pounding the ground and unable to control herself. At the sight of this breakthrough, Lapis began beaming at seeing her sprightly roommate return and gleefully began thinking of what to do now that they were reunited. The guffawing soon died and Peridot began to collect herself. Once again standing but still fighting to contain her mad giggling, she sputtered "That is the most… ludicrous statement I have ever heard! HAHAHAHA! The thought that I would betray my Diamond and align with those clods! That is hysterical! HA HAHA! As appreciative as I am for your comic relief, that doesn't put us any closer to leaving this forsaken planet."

"No" she mumbled as she began stumbling past her

"What did you just say?"

"This can't be happening. You really don't know anything."

"Excuse me, I have practically absorbed enough information about Gem technology to overload your deluded mind. Now if you are through with your flights of fancy, make yourself useful and" was all Peridot could speak before Lapis tore across the wooden floor up to Peridot's workspace on the second floor where a once casual setup for watching television had become her hub for all things fandom. Lining the couch were stacks of paper with spent pens and crumpled scraps littering the space along with multiple packets containing fanfiction still in the making. Where the TV once was now contained more materials for sculptures and the wall was home to several diagrams painstakingly drawn by hand that show potential plot threads and their resulting outcomes, charts that show character compatibility and one of her most prized possessions: a stuffed alien doll from Funland she won at a carnival game with Steven and Amethyst the day she discovered her ability to mentally control metal. She became enraged if it was moved the slightest inch from the position where she left it while she was lost ruminating on one of her projects. Wholly assured that this obdurate stranger was not the Peridot she had grown to appreciate, Lapis rushed past the stacks of discarded objects and clutched the plush in her hands knocking one of her outline to the floor. By the time Peridot reached the foot of the ladder, Lapis had begun descending with enough vigor to turn her cerulean knuckles white and came to a stop in front of the bewildered Peridot. With her hand practically choking the stuffed extraterrestrial, Lapis initiated her last resort "Does this look familiar?"

"Is that some sort of weapon?"

"UGH! It's your alien plush that you got months ago! You would go ballistic if I even breathed on it let alone grabbed it! You can't look me dead in the eyes and say you don't feel anything when I hold this" she said as she bent down to match Peridot's critical survey. Without missing a step, she stared Lapis dead in the eyes and said "I have no attachment to that silly object."

Without saying a word, Lapis dropped the plush onto the cold floor and dashed outside. Once alfresco, she sprouted her wings and perched on the pick-up truck balcony where she curled into a ball and began to shed tears of hopelessness as the fear and resentment bottled within her broke free. Baffled by this torrent of emotion, Peridot could only scratch her head as she walked towards the exit to get some explanation from her hysterical informant. After glancing up to find her on the platform above the entrance, she shouted "What are you going on about now?"

"I'm crying! And it's _purpose_ is to release sadness when one of your only _friends_ turns into a conceited _clod_!" she spat as the waterworks continued leaving Peridot utterly lost with nothing to do but return to her original objective of engineering some form of communicator from that experimental pyramid remote. As she scoured the wreckage of Lapis' frenzied maelstrom she tripped and landed face first into the planks. Growling with irritation, she spotted the red-and-white harmonica that caused her fall which she promptly kicked away in chagrin. Peridot had at last had enough with her mission compromised, escort missing in action, informant who was a senile train wreck and surrounded by useless trinkets, her boiling point had long since eclipsed. "WHY IS EVERYTHING ON THIS PLANET SO WORTHLESS!" she screamed, flailing her arms in a tantrum until she heard a thud come from a few yards away.

The metallic trinket she just punted was now lying on its side despite her swearing she had not left the ground during its trip and thus she still be flat-side down. In a matter of seconds she deduced that it could not have moved on its own, so what caused its brief migration even though common sense dictates inanimate objects cannot move on her own? As she was raising her hand to her head, Peridot heard a faint scraping noise come from the same gimcrack and began testing her rapidly-forming hypothesis by repeating the gesture until she caught direct sight of it moving. As Lapis was still bawling outside, Peridot quickly caught the act in the moment and could not believe her eyes. Daring to progress farther, she then raised her other hand and began imagining a force causing that tchotchke to leave the ground and after minutes of feeling utterly absurd, she saw the harmonica levitate a few inches above the ground. With a gentle reigning in of her arms, she then commanded it to come towards her and it responded perfectly. Flabbergasted by this apparent power, Peridot's rational mind was thrown into turmoil. How could I have this power? How could they have never told me I possessed it? And above else, why did she have a hunch this was not the first time she had utilized it? All at once, she heard the sounds of Lapis sobbing above her, everything around her suddenly seemed recognizable and countless of memories engulfed her mind rendering her unconscious once more and on the ground with a heavy thump. The resounding thump was enough to snap Lapis back to reality and motivated enough to fly down and investigate the cause. Her immediate guess was that Peridot began dismantling one of her meep-morps which faded once she saw her body sprawled on the ground once again, filling her with concern and worry. She bolted to her side and began shouting "Peridot? What happened? Are you alright?! Peridot!" until she came round with a discombobulated glance around her.

"Lapis?" she asked sleepily

"Yes, Peridot?"

As she regained her bearings, she took a tentative gander at the expanse around her. Along her visual search, something horrific caused her to spring back to life once and scream in terror. "AAAAAHHHH!"

"What is it?"

"What did you do? How did Pierre II get all the way from his home down here?! I told that while we share almost everything else here, he is off-limits… oof!" she ranted until Lapis cut her off by squeezing her with incredible strength.

"Thank goodness your back! I thought you were back to being a heartless… Oh thank goodness your back" Lapis gasped in between bear hugs.

"Enough already! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to poof me and what do you mean back? Wait, how did I get home?" she asked realizing that she was nowhere near the field they were traversing.

"That thing we found was a remote made by Blue Diamond that knocked everyone out and reverted you back to the way you were before joining the Crystal Gems."

"Oh. Ohhh…" she uttered once the weight of the situation hit her and somehow still remembering the events that transpired today. Guilt was beginning to settle in her before a glorious truth came to her attention. "Wait a minute, if I regained my memory thanks to your intervention then that means the effects are not permanent!"

"You're right! We have to tell Steven so he knows that he can fix the other Crystal Gems!" As if on cue Lapis released her wings and waved for Peridot to climb aboard. Once she had a firm hold, they jettisoned from the ground and as the leisurely stroll began, Peridot asked "Lapis, did you mean your earlier statement?"

"Which one?"

"That I'm your friend?"

"Don't be ridiculous Peridot. Of course you're my friend."

"Wow. That's… so touching. I need to use that in my fanfiction!"

With the winds whipping through her hair, Lapis Lazuli could only roll her eyes as this was a sure sign that the compulsive, hyperactive uber-nerd she has grown to love was back in full force.


	10. Chapter 10

While the other Gems were snapping back to their heartfelt selves, Steven was just trying to not snap. After waking from the latest invasion of his mind, he had retreated to the hill above the temple leaving Amethyst down below so she would not suffer from taking over the leadership role and to occupy Pearl in case she returned. The stunning view of the moonlit ocean did nothing to calm the seething pain throbbing in his head and now he could not even close his eyes for a second without having his life hijacked by more reminders of Rose Quartz's unfathomable legacy. It was not enough that the other Gems missed her dearly and that he felt the burden of being her son, but now his friends had all slipped off into amnesiac disasters and he was too incapacitated to help them. Peridot would just attack him, Ruby and Sapphire were who knows where and Pearl thought the entire ordeal was some clever charade by "Rose" for amusement. His father cannot help him, Lapis is too occupied with her own problems, and Amethyst is struggling not to crack under the pressure as it is let alone stepping up to act as a counselor. The images had become ingrained into his brain to the point where he could write Rose's autobiography with startling accuracy going over every decision, every battle, every sacrifice, every comrade she lost all in the name of protecting the world she treasured. The pulsing migraine was not improving his mood either and no matter how many times he tried the meditation techniques Garnet demonstrated, recalled Pearl's encouraging words or summoned Amethyst's hijinks to mind, nothing would shake off the colossal shadow cloaking him. With his face still pointed towards the horizon, Steven heard the sound of grass rustling under footsteps and, for once, social interaction was the last thing he needed now. "Go away, Amethyst. I'm sorry everyone's gone but I don't know what to do."

He did not bother to turn around but this visitor continued to approach him. "Pearl, just give some space, alright?"

Still the stranger paced towards him until the noises stopped. Unable to process who else it could be, he shouted "I don't want to talk! Just leave me alone!"

"Really? I thought out of anyone you would want to speak to me" said the stranger in a gentle, resounding voice that Steven vaguely recognized. He only heard it clearly once before in a tape his mother had left behind… his mother?! Unable to believe his ears, Steven finally turned around and was gob smacked by the figure before him. A proud, benign woman stood eight feet tall with enough confidence in her stance to shatter a mountain. Her bare feet were concealed by her multi-tiered dress that changed from pink to white higher up interrupted only by a star cutout at the navel. Inside that cutout was a pink rose quartz with five facets identical to his own but what truly drew his attention was her face. Poised under a massive head of curly pink hair was a face he had seen everywhere yet only now could he appreciate the compassion that radiated from it. Her black eyes shone with pride as she finally got to meet him. It was Rose Quartz herself. Without warning the teardrops began surging from his eyes and all his troubles seem to evaporate like the morning dew. "Mom?!"

Powerless to refrain her own emotions, Rose's eyes began to tear up in an instant "Hello, Steven."

As if she were walking on air, she floated towards him and met his weeping stare and began wiping away the streaks that stained his cheeks and hugged her son. Despite being nearly twice his size and, from what he heard, strong enough to defeat most Gem soldiers effortlessly, her embrace was practically exploding with benevolence as if her sheer will could dissipate all negativity in the atmosphere and a glowing aura surrounded her even in the darkness of night.

"How are you here?! You should be dead!" said an incredulous Steven

"Remember that message I left you? I wasn't kidding when I said I was half of you. Since you hold my gem and part of my identity, that remote control brought out my memories contained in your DNA and that's what has been causing those flashbacks."

With that, Steven felt the strain of her accomplishments wash over him again and closed his eyes to regather himself. For the first time all day, the thoughts of her past were gone and he could concentrate. "They're gone!" he exclaimed with enormous relief. Seeing Rose's smile, though, a new batch of questions emerged in his mind and his expression soured.

"Steven, what is it?" asked Rose

"It's just that I've heard so many wonderful things about you. All the lives you changed and the way you sacrificed everything. It feels like no matter what I do… I'll never live up to it."

"Steven, you're fourteen! It took me hundreds of years to accomplish everything I had done. And if you don't surpass me, so what? You can still live your own life where you can be anything you want."

"But I want to be a Crystal Gem and protect everyone! And if I can't do that, then what will I…"

"I'm proud of what you've done so far, Steven. Everyone has to start somewhere."

"Wait, how could you have seen what I've done?"

"As a part of you, I've been there through it all. I saw you stopping that humongous eyeball from colliding with the planet with my laser light cannon. I watched when you befriended that corrupted Gem. I saw you stop a massive Gem mutant from destroying the world! You have no idea how proud I was that day and you did it not by fighting, but by being a kind soul who wants to help anyone in need. That's all I could have ever asked for."

"Really?"

"Of course. And you have even made some of your own allies."

"Peridot and Lapis Lazuli?"

"Exactly. You gave them a new life away from Homeworld trying to force them to be something and instead let them discover themselves."

With his cheeks burning as brightly as the moon beginning to descend from its apex and fall towards the horizon, Steven was more honored than he had ever been in his life. "Thanks, Mom. I really needed to hear that."

"Thank you for giving me the chance to be something I never was before."

"What's that?"

"A parent. I knew it couldn't happen since I had to relinquish my form for you but now I've even overcome that. Now I'm the one who feels the need to live up to you."

"As great as this is, there's still the other Gems to worry about. What do you think I should do?"

"Well, what do you think is the one thing that the Diamonds wouldn't consider when developing a device to tamper with your mind?"

"Headaches?"

"Very funny, Steven. I believe you already know the answer. It's the same one you have used to solve all your other problems."

After some deliberation and glancing at his mother's bemused expression, the solution came to his mind and if his hunch were correct the results may not be pretty.

"Does this mean you can stay?"

"I'm sorry Steven but I'll have to go away again soon."

"What?! But everyone would be thrilled to see you. Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Dad, Connie, even Peridot and Lapis! They'd all be ecstatic!"

"Yes, but they all have to deal with the fact that I'm not here anymore and appearing before them would just be unfair. I miss them all greatly but I don't regret anything I have done."

"Even with Pink Diamond?"

After giving a hefty sigh, Rose admits "I had to make some brutal decisions during the Gem War, Steven. I hope you never have to face what I did but if you do, I'm certain you will do what's best for everyone on Earth. And that's all a mother could ever want."

"You're going to make me cry again," jested Steven.

"You think you're the only one?" replied Rose before they shared one final embrace as the sun emerged on the skyline. As the rays warmed the frigid ground and the sparkling ocean, Rose suddenly vanished leaving Steven alone on the hilltop once more. Now with his mind under his control again, he could practically feel the world being lifted off his shoulders as he strolled to the edge of the cliff. Past the lighthouse he saw the enormous statue that towered over the sandy coast below and braved a downward glance. On the beach he could see Amethyst who was stalling an irate Pearl who had finally returned from her unintended trip into town and he knew now was the time to put his plan into motion.


	11. Chapter 11

"Amethyst, you have some explaining to do!" shouted the exasperated Pearl as she stomped down the coastline with soot caking her clothes and scrapes lining her arms and legs from sliding down a chimney.

"Uh, hey Pearl! Did you find Garnet?" asked Amethyst sheepishly

"No. It was rather difficult to begin a search for them when I had to spend an entire night skulking around the neighborhood while police officers are chasing a suspect for breaking and entering! So excuse me if I was a touch distracted thanks to your faulty aim and foolhardiness."

Although Amethyst could have provoked her farther to continue her tirade, she was disturbed by the scene occurring above her as just off the face of the cliff she could see Steven standing on the cliff's edge. If even she could not walk away from that fall unscathed, Steven's odds at surviving without fatal injury were as likely as Pearl becoming an alcoholic. Panic swelled in her throat while, ironically enough, Pearl instead watched with confusion as Steven stopped at the last minute and seemed to take a slight glance down. Even if this was out of her territory, Amethyst barked at him "Steven, get down from there NOW! I know you may be upset but trust me this is not worth it!"

With complete silence save for the morning birds and a soft waves crashing on the beach, Steven stepped off and began to plummet to the ground. Amethyst rushed forward in an attempt to catch while Pearl was concerned as well but knew that Rose had survived worse falls than that and could simply float to safety. As for Steven, he fought the panic building in his chest and concentrated on his feelings. The undying affection for his family who needed him now more than ever before and just as his nose-dive was halfway finished, he felt the harsh wind around him slow and his crash become a smooth descent as if the air was caressing him. In only a minute Steven was perfectly unharmed on the beach with his face unperturbed. Amethyst was blown away by this display and charged him immediately upon landing. "Dude that was AMAZING! How did you do that?!" she screamed with complete bewilderment

"That was quite the stunt, Rose but I never doubted you would emerge in one piece" said Pearl who, much to Steven's disappointment, had not even budged from her position. On any other day she would be practically suffocating him to and bombarding him with "What were you thinking?" and "Don't you _ever_ frighten me like that again!" among other motherly tendencies. Calmly striding towards her while Amethyst remained still to avoid getting trapped in the line of fire, Steven met her confident stare. "About that… Pearl I need to tell you something."

"Oh? Oh, it's the clothes isn't it? I can freshen up and then we can…"

"No, this is something that you need to hear. Right now."

"Okay then" she said with a slight tone of surprise "What it is Rose?"

"Rose Quartz is dead. I am her half-human son Steven. She gave up her physical form to create me and her gem is the only piece of her left."

Thrown off guard for a split second, Pearl then lightened up believing this was all an elaborate façade she was employing to become more like the humans she adored.

"Hahaha! Oh, Rose you never cease to stupefy me! If you truly are a human, how could you soften your descent without a parachute?" she said after letting out a hearty laugh as if this whole plight was a grand inside joke.

"I had a hunch you wouldn't listen to reason. Amethyst I need your help with something."

Perplexed as she was at being included in this discussion, Amethyst walked over to them and faced Steven only for him to gesture for her to lean closer. Once they were as close as possible, he whispered his abnormal request into her ear. In spite of being completely baffled Amethyst obeyed and shapeshifted into the object that, according to him, would assist in returning Pearl to normal: a needle. Carefully avoiding her miniscule face, Steven held the purple needle in his left hand while summoning his shield over his left arm. With great care he then pricked his right thumb causing a drop of blood to form which he then allowed to fall onto the shield. A streak of crimson stained the immaculate pink inlay and as more droplets fell into the sand, Pearl observed with complete confusion at how Rose was bleeding. As her organized mind ran through all the possibilities, nothing added up since Gems have no internal organs as opposed to… humans. Finally perceiving the weight of the situation, she could hardly stand as this child who somehow had her mentor's shield, her gem, her abilities and impressive knowledge of them stood before her defiling Rose's signature weapon. "How… what… who are you?" she managed to stutter

"I told you I'm Rose's son Steven. She's been gone for fourteen years."

"But how? The shield, the floating, that gem in your navel! This can't be happening! How are you bleeding?!"

"Because I'm human."

As if the world were pulled out from under her, Pearl broke into a sobbing wreck at the very thought of Rose being gone. She briefly considered that this was some sinister ploy by some long-dormant enemy but the proof in her eyes was irrefutable and Amethyst seemed to recognize him but how? With his thumb still trickling, Steven's armament faded and he joined her squalor and took a seat next to her. Unsettled as he was by the hollowness of her stare, Steven could not relent until she came to her senses. "You probably never saw this coming, did you?" he asked

"I just don't understand how this could have happened. I know she and that Greg were getting serious but she had seen other earthlings before him. How could she just leave?"

"She knew what making me would involve. But with that said, you need to understand that she isn't gone."

"What are you talking about?! You yourself made it perfectly clear that Rose was…"

"She isn't really gone. She may not be here in person but everything she accomplished hasn't changed."

"True, but that won't bring her back. What am I supposed to do now without her?"

"What do you feel like without her?"

"Empty. Incomplete. Lost. Unsure of who I am."

"It may not seem like it, but you're still an amazing person."

"How do you know so much about us? About me?"

"I've been around for a while, but that's not important. What matters is that you remember how unique you are. Rose gave you that but her being gone doesn't take that away. I've heard that there hundreds of Pearls but you're the only one who had the courage to throw away everything for someone else."

"It's true. I did it all for her. Hundreds of years of fighting, abandoning my life, pushing myself to the extreme. It was all for her."

"That may be the case but there's more to you than that. You're incredible, smart, talented, caring and no matter what it takes you come through. That's something no one can take away from you."

Finally looking up from the ground, Pearl faced this mystifying young man who seemed to know exactly what to say as if he'd known her for years. As she contemplated his speech, her mind gave out and she was rendered unconscious. Forced to stop rinsing the blood that now stained her white tank top, Amethyst rushed over to investigate and joined him now standing. "Steven, I think you may have gone a bit too far" she said as the two look over the comatose Gem. Their vigil only lasted a few minutes before her awareness returned and something immediately demanded her attention. Seeing the red blood now staining Steven's entire thumb, she bolted upright as if electrocuted and demanded "Steven, what on Earth happened to your hand?! Just stay calm I'll go get bandages and some…" but was cut short by Steven grabbing her by the waist and delivering the most earnest embrace of his young life while chanting "Pearl's back! Pearl's back! Pearl's back!" at the top of his lungs. As for Pearl, her shock soon faded as the events of the past day reappeared and could not resist returning his exuberance both out of solace and pride of how he handled such a daunting task. "That's right Steven. I'm back and it's all thanks to you."

"Great. Guess that means you're going to squawk at me to put on a different shirt" said a secretly allayed Amethyst pointing to her shirt that was still stained with blotches of red.

"Amethyst, that's disgusting… I mean, yes I'd appreciate if you would freshen up while I get Steven a bandage for his wound."

"Never thought I'd miss your uptight butt" she smirked as she waltzed back into the house to fetch a fresh garment.

Just after refinishing her outfit, she saw that another figure who had ran back into town a moment ago. "It's nice to see that everything's back in order around here" said Garnet with her customary composed smile once again gracing her face.

"Garnet!" exclaimed everyone on the beach. With the four main Crystal Gems reunited, they all gathered into one mass and took a second to now enjoy the dazzling sunrise before Garnet pointed towards an airborne object heading straight towards them and the others did not require her future vision to know it was Peridot and Lapis. As soon as they touched down, the duo surged Steven and exposited all the information they acquired only to realize their tardiness upon seeing the other Gems eavesdropping with broad grins. "Hate to break it to you nerds, but we already figured that stuff out" said Amethyst

"Yeah, but it's nice to see you two are back to normal" said Garnet

Speaking up for once, Lapis admitted "I couldn't let Peridot turn back into that bossy clod" with her cheeks blushing

"Very funny, Lazuli. You're just lucky you didn't smudge my shipping diagram or you are going to regret ever coming to the planet."

"Well, more of a bossy clod."

"Regardless of what had to be done, that horrible travesty is behind us but there's one thing that still eludes me" said Pearl. "Steven, where did you get your plan to snap me back to reality from?"

Deciding to honor Rose's wishes and keep her momentary reappearance private, he said "Well, I just thought that the one thing the Diamonds wouldn't count on with us was emotion. So that seemed to be the best way to reach you."

"Blech. I think all this sappiness is gonna make me ill again" moaned Peridot

"Says the Gem who cried at nearly every emotional moment in _Camp Pining Hearts_ " Lapis taunted

"Touché. Well, we are pleased to see that you all are you functioning properly once more and, if you'll excuse us, have some new ideas for meep-morps we'd like to discuss."

"Right after we smash that remote to pieces."

"Affirmative! Now, let's… uh. What was that expression…? Blow this joint!"

"Bye, Steven. See you next week when you visit!" Lapis said as she and Peridot bade the Crystal Gems farewell and once again took to the sky on wings of fluid.

"Well, that's nice. I'm gonna go eat something" said Amethyst who felt the need to celebrate this occasion.

"So Steven, what are you going to do now?" asked Garnet

"I'm going to get some sleep for the first time in twenty-four hours!" he cheered before letting out a massive yawn

"You can head off to bed as soon as I get you a bandage for that puncture" said Pearl who had certainly earned her right to smother.

Just as Steven was about to head inside, Garnet stopped him at the door and said to him "You should be very proud today, Steven. You handled that flawlessly and I'm certain Rose would think so as well."

"Yeah. I think you're right."

Make no mistake, his reply was not some attempt to placate the nearly all-seeing Garnet. As he turned around to take one last view of the ocean, he spotted the figure of his mother standing just centimeters above the waves with an enormous smile on her face before a wave caused the illusion to dissipate. After an entire day of amnesia, comas and emotional collaborations, Steven could finally get the sleep a growing Gem needs.

 **Author's Notes: And that's the end. I would like to personally thank all of the readers who made it this far. I never imagined a story I wrote nearly two years ago would be viewed almost 3,000 times in less than two months! I would also like to give a special thank you to Steampunk Wilson, a reader who gave reviews to every chapter the day it was uploaded. To think I actually have a fan such who looked forward to this touches my heart. I hope Wilson and many more tune in for my next project!**


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